[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37145-37146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18228]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-387 and 50-388]


Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, Susquehanna Steam Electric 
Station (Units 1 & 2 ); Confirmatory Order Modifying Licenses Effective 
Immediately

I

    Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, (PP&L or the Licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-17 and NPF-22, which 
authorize operation of Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Units 1 and 
2, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

II

    The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been 
concerned that Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier systems installed by 
licensees may not provide the level of fire endurance intended and that 
licensees that use Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barriers may not be meeting 
regulatory requirements. During the 1992 to 1994 time frame, the NRC 
staff issued Generic Letter (GL) 92-08, ``Thermo-Lag 330-1 Fire 
Barriers'' and subsequent requests for additional information that 
requested licensees to submit plans and schedules for resolving the 
Thermo-Lag issue. The NRC staff has obtained and reviewed all 
licensees' corrective plans and implementation schedules. The staff is 
concerned that some licensees may not be making adequate progress 
toward resolving the plant-specific issues, and that some 
implementation schedules may be either too tenuous or too protracted. 
For example, several licensees informed the NRC staff that their 
completion dates had slipped by 6 months to as much as 3 years. For 
plants that have completion action scheduled beyond 1997, the NRC staff 
has met with the licensees to discuss the progress of the licensees' 
corrective actions and the extent of licensee management attention 
regarding completion of Thermo-Lag corrective actions.

[[Page 37146]]

    PP&L was one of the licensees with which the NRC staff held 
meetings. At these meetings, the NRC staff reviewed with PP&L the 
schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective actions described in the PP&L 
submittals to the NRC dated April 15, 1993; February 3 and December 22, 
1994; August 2, 1995; February 4, 1997; and January 6 and May 4, 1998. 
Based on the information submitted by PP&L, the NRC staff has concluded 
that the schedules presented by PP&L are reasonable. This conclusion is 
based on the (1) amount of installed Thermo-Lag, (2) the complexity of 
the plant-specific fire barrier configurations and issues, and (3) the 
need to perform certain plant modifications during outages as opposed 
to those that can be performed while the plant is at power. In order to 
remove compensatory measures such as fire watches, it has been 
determined that resolution of the Thermo-Lag corrective actions by PP&L 
must be completed in accordance with current PP&L's schedules. By 
letter dated May 19, 1998, the NRC staff notified PP&L of its plan to 
incorporate PP&L's schedule commitment into a requirement by issuance 
of an Order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated 
June 3, 1998, the Licensee provided its consent to issuance of a 
Confirmatory Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of June 3, 
1998, is acceptable and is necessary for the NRC to conclude that 
public health and safety are reasonably assured. To preclude any 
schedule slippage and to assure public health and safety, the NRC staff 
has determined that the Licensee's commitment in its June 3, 1998, 
letter be confirmed by this Order. The Licensee has agreed to this 
action. Based on the above, and the Licensee's consent, this Order is 
immediately effective upon issuance.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, 
effective immediately, that:

    Pennsylvania Power & Light Company shall complete final 
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions 
at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, described in 
the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company's submittals to the NRC dated 
April 15, 1993; February 3 and December 22, 1994; August 2, 1995; 
February 4, 1997; and January 6 and May 4, 1998, by completion of 
the April 2000 refueling outage for SSES, Unit 1. Overall work 
package closeout will be completed by the end of December 2000.

The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may relax or 
rescind, in writing, any provisions of this Confirmatory Order upon a 
showing by the Licensee of good cause.

V

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its 
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to 
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of 
time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, 
and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
    Any request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attention: Chief, Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff, Washington, D.C. 20555. Copies of the hearing 
request shall also be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D. C. 
20555, to the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the 
same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406-1415 and to the 
Licensee. If such a person requests a hearing, that person shall set 
forth with particularity the manner in which his/her interest is 
adversely affected by this Order and shall address criteria set forth 
in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and 
place of any such hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be 
considered at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order 
should be sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for 
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this Order.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 2nd day of July 1998.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-18228 Filed 7-8-98; 8:45 am]
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